Conservatives, NDP and Bloc Quebecois parties considering their options in election chicken game in national politics
Federal opposition parties still have not decided what they will do with their opposition days next week. Conservative House Leader Jay Hill (Prince George-Peace River, B.C.) said the party will decide only a few days before Nov. 15, the Conservatives’ first opposition day and their first opportunity to introduce a non-confidence motion.”I talked about it […]
Welcome to ‘bullshit theatre,’ as John Turner called it, or, the entertaining daily 45-minute Question Period
Claire Hoy once said, ‘To really inform the public, journalists should be allowed to cover Cabinet – and the Commons could be closed to the public,’ but is it fair to criticize Question Period simply because it’s transparent? It is the best part of Ottawa. Everyone ought to see it in person. It is brash […]
MPs bitterly fighting over franking privileges, House-funded partisan pamphlets
There were a lot of long faces in the opposition benches where the Bloc Quebecois MPs sat last week, former Cabinet minister Denis Coderre told The Hill Times. “These are people who are nervous,”said Mr. Coderre (Bourassa, Que.), who raised a question of privilege over mail-outs that Bloc MPs are sending to their constituents, linking […]
Gomery Report, Who’s Responsible: some briefs
“The report that follows chronicles a depressing story of multiple failures to plan a government program appropriately and to control waste – a story of greed, venality and misconduct both in government and advertising and communications agencies, all of which contributed to the loss and misuse of huge amounts of money at the expense of […]
Calgary Herald, National Post columnist Don Martin set to write Stronach book
The book on Belinda… Calgary Herald and National Post Ottawa columnist Don Martin has a verbal agreement with Key Porter books to write a biography of rookie Liberal Cabinet minister and recently departed Conservative Belinda Stronach. Tentatively earmarked for publication next September, Mr. Martin says his book will cover Belinda from birth to the next […]
MP Angus says Kashechewan is ‘Paul Martin’s New Orleans’
NDP MP Charlie Angus says he didn’t get into federal politics to be comfy and play the game. But the rookie MP sure played the game when he shook things up recently. The Kashechewan reserve is “Prime Minister Paul Martin’s New Orleans,”says NDP MP Charlie Angus, the MP who helped force the issue of deplorable […]
Libs out of commission in Quebec for 10 years
TORONTO – Last week was one of the most chaotic weeks in federal politics. It was a skunk fight, a free-for-all. Liberals were divided and dispirited in their effort to keep this brain-dead government alive. But oddly, in this Parliament, there’s a minority government, a minority opposition, and no one is winning in this chaotic […]
Canadians tend to look to Ottawa in times of crisis and at such times, voters also usually prefer activist governments
From one incident to the next, the Martin team has become more adept at tailoring its response to the national mood, not necessarily to the most pressing needs in the afflicted areas. To Paul Martin and Stephen Harper, a crisis is a leadership vote at their party conventions or a confidence motion in the Commons. […]
Labour force training: the federal government has to respect the jurisdiction of Quebec and the other provinces
Education and the vocational skills of workers are fundamental labour market issues in a knowledge-based society like ours. We have to use our full array of tools – from literacy to continuous training in the workplace – to ensure that our labour force remains internationally competitive.That said, it is vital that in Quebec and in […]
Grits fast-tracked nomination of Mint chairman: Conservatives: Applications sent to Privy Council Office ‘were just trashed,’ says Conservative MP Gary Lunn
The Liberal government fast-tracked the nomination of Max C. Lewis as the new chairperson of the Royal Canadian Mint, the opposition Conservatives said this week. “The Privy Council Office apparently received five or six applications. They were just trashed,” said Gary Lunn (Saanich-Gulf Islands, BC). “The nomination committee never even received those. All they got […]
